Buckskin Brigade

"This book records the westward march of civilization in it's slow, hazardous course across 3,000 mile of wilderness, beyond the towns, the settlements, and the log-cabin clearings of primitive America. It is the story of the "buckskin brigade" who pushed steadily onward from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Golden Gate, blazing a trail for others to follow. Colorful chapters, each introduced by a factual preface, recount the exploits of fishermen who first landed on Cape Breton, stolid hunters who kept the Roanoke colony from starvation, fur traders who rediscovered Hudson Bay, moccasined scouts who opened up  the ohio country, keel-boatmen who conquered the Mississsippi, trappers and bullwhackers. An absorbing contribution to our understanding of America." -N. Y. TIMES